WATCH: Texans QB C.J. Stroud Showcases NFL Potential During OTAs
HOUSTON — Houston Texans' rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud took first-team reps during Wednesday's OTAs practice.
Stroud's passes were on-point, and his ball placement was spot-on when connecting with his targets at the Houston Methodist Training Center. And during 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 team drills, Stroud completed four to five pass attempts to third-year wide receiver, Nico Collins.
Stroud's reps with the presumed starters were the most significant highlights during Week 2 of OTAs. And according to coach DeMeco Ryans, playing with the first team indicated Stroud's early progress.
"Each day he continues to progress well," Ryans said. "He continues to get comfortable with the verbiage of the offense and command of the huddle. He is progressing in the right direction, and the sky is the limit for him."
Stroud spent the first week of OTA practices playing behind Davis Mills. At the time, Ryans did not have an idea when the 21-year-old quarterback would take first-team snaps.
But Ryans became open to the concept following the Texans' return from the Memorial Day weekend on Tuesday. He said it was eye-opening to see how "on it" Stroud had been.
Offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik said Stroud is putting in the work while describing his work ethic as "awesome."
"We did a two-minute drive at the end of practice sometime last week, and he [Stroud] threw into kind of a coverage we hadn't shown," defensive coordinator Matt Burke said. "It was the first day we put the coverage in.
"The first thing he did when I was walking off the field was he grabbed me, said, ‘Coach Burke.’ And he spent about 10 minutes walking in off the field asking me about the coverage and just sort of what he saw and how we kind of set it up and talked through that."
Texans' Quarterbacks coach Jerrod Johnson said Stroud is "already way ahead of pace." And two weeks into OTAs practice, the rookie prospect from Ohio State took center stage displaying his development against Houston's top defensive players.
Stroud went 7-of-8 during 7-on-7 drills. His best pass of the day came following a deep ball attempt to Collins for over 20 yards.
Stroud revealed his goal was to continue pushing himself every day of OTAs while seeking all the feedback possible due to his aspirations to be great.
Seven days later, Stroud has not only stuck to his word. But his early enhancements have made the quarterback competition more intriguing before the start of mandatory minicamp on June 13.
"It's going to be a process," Stroud said on May 23. "It doesn't happen overnight. Just trying to learn from the guys who have been in the offense before, like I know Case has been in the offense before.
"So just trying to learn from him a lot. Davis knows a lot about the game, so learn from him. Learn from some of the vets. That's kind of just been my approach is learn it little by little."
You can follow Coty M. Davis on Twitter at @CotyDavis_24
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